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p. 4 of 53 BACK | NEXT Executive Summary Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations by ADF Donors ADF VIII: Requests for Midterm Policy Reviews and Reports I. Introduction II. The International Development Goals III. Poverty in Developing Asia IV. ADB and ADF: Vision and Role V. ADB’S Framework for Poverty Reduction VI. Development through Partnership VII. ADF Resources: Portfolio Management and Performance VIII. The Strategy for Implementing ADF VIII IX. Planned Lending in ADF VIII X. Financing Framework for ADF VIII XI. Issues for Policy Review XII. Midterm Review of ADF VIII

ADF VIII Donor's Report: Fighting Poverty in Asia

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I. Introduction

1. Poverty is a deprivation of essential assets and opportunities to which every human being is entitled. Everyone should have access to basic education and primary health services. Poor households have the right to sustain themselves by their labor and be reasonably rewarded, as well as having some protection from external shocks. Beyond income and basic services, individuals and societies are also poor—and tend to remain so—if they are not empowered to participate in making decisions that shape their lives. Poverty is thus best measured in terms of available basic education; health care; nutrition; water and sanitation; opportunities for expression and choice; as well as income, employment, and wages.

2. Today, 1.3 billion people live in poverty. Of these, two thirds live in the Asian and Pacific Region (the Region). This is a vast number of poor people, but there is hope. For the first time in human history, abject poverty could be eliminated from the human condition. The elimination of abject poverty is an achievable goal—but is not inevitable. This places great responsibility on developing countries, and on the international community and the development assistance organizations they support, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

3. The Asian Development Fund (ADF) is ADB’s concessional lending window. The governments of ADB Donor members (Donors), both regional and nonregional, contribute to ADF. As ADB’s concessional window, ADF is the only multilateral source of concessional assistance dedicated exclusively to the needs of the Region. Activities supported by ADF promote poverty reduction and improvement in the quality of life in ADB’s poorer developing member countries (DMCs). ADF is thus an important instrument of multilateral cooperation for achieving poverty reduction through equitable and sustainable development.

4. In ADF VII (the current replenishment period), Donors endorsed a long-term vision for ADF, to (i) accelerate the pace of poverty reduction in the Region, and (ii) establish in ADF financing on the basis of resources other than new Donor contributions. In March 1999, ADB provided the Board of Directors with a midterm progress report on the implementation of ADF VII operational priorities and preparation of new ADF policies. In May 1999, Donors agreed to commence negotiations on the seventh replenishment of ADF (ADF VIII).

5. ADF’s resources come primarily from periodic contributions by Donors. The number of Donors that support ADF has grown to include all developed members and several middle and higher-income DMCs. The Donors have decided to replenish ADF’s resources to finance its operations for the four-year period 2001-2004 (the ADF VIII period) starting on 1 January 2001. This report presents Donors’ guidance on ADF’s objectives, policy directions, and priorities, and sets out their recommendations.¹

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